1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electrical connectors for use in establishing electrical continuity on a plurality of separate lines or circuits in a single detachable sealed multicontact electrical connector.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,150,866 discloses a multicontact sealed detachable electrical connector having a plurality of male and female terminals separately located in matable multicavity housings. The electrical connector shown therein employs seals at the outer face of both connector halves to establish sealing integrity with each round wire conductor as it enters the corresponding terminal cavity. Sealing integrity is maintained at the interface between the two connector housings by a single O-ring positioned at the mating face of the two housings. If one of the seals at the end of the housings cavities engaging the round wire conductor were to fail, sealing integrity would be lost for all of the conductors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,221,292 discloses a detachable multicontact electrical connector employing a unitary grommet at each end of the connector halves to maintain sealing integrity with the wires leading into the plurality of cavities in the connector. Sealing integrity is maintained around the exterior of the connector by a peripheral O-ring seal. To the extent sealing integrity is maintained between separate lines in this connector, sealing integrity must be maintained at the faces of intermediate grommets in separate connector parts. It does not appear however that sealing integrity is to be maintained between separate lines interconnected by mating male and female terminals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,928 also discloses a detachable multicontact electrical connector having sealing grommets at the rearward end of two connector halves for maintaining sealing integrity with the wires extending into cavities in the connector half. A peripheral O-ring seal is provided between the exterior of the male connector half and the encircling flange of the female connector half to establish peripheral sealing integrity.
Other multicontact connectors employ a single face seal between mating faces of male and female connector halves to establish sealing integrity between terminals in opposite connecting halves at the interface. However these interfacial seals are intended to maintain the sealing integrity between all of the lines in the connector and do not ensure sealing integrity when one or more of a plurality of lines in a multicontact connector are not present.